I have seen the first two episodes, and I am compelled to keep watching.
The story it's interesting and capitalises on the fascination with the historical period: what with an old world and old customs being swept away by a tragic war, and new freedoms emerging and clashing with the old ways.
One problem is that other movies and series have talked about this historical period in Berlin and done an excellent job, so this series was always going to be diminished by these comparisons and makes it harder to judge it on its own. As some others have pointed out, some issues like post-traumatic stress disorder and drug use to deal with it (certainly a big issue in post-war Germany), has been the subject of other sub-plots, e.g. In Babylon Berlin.
And yet, it's a charming series and you are drawn towards some of the characters. The two female leads have so far produced a strong performance.
Some here have harshly criticised the series for showing some street scenes where the actors, dressed in 1920s costumes, were clearly in modern day Berlin (with modern cars etc.). This was so evident that I argue it was intentional. And I think this was a very poignant reminder that these people lived in the same places we pass by, their stories unfolded across the same streets we walk on. Placing the characters in modern day Berlin highlighted how these stories are still relevant today.
So, I will keep watching this series, hoping the whole thing is as good as the first two episodes.
The story it's interesting and capitalises on the fascination with the historical period: what with an old world and old customs being swept away by a tragic war, and new freedoms emerging and clashing with the old ways.
One problem is that other movies and series have talked about this historical period in Berlin and done an excellent job, so this series was always going to be diminished by these comparisons and makes it harder to judge it on its own. As some others have pointed out, some issues like post-traumatic stress disorder and drug use to deal with it (certainly a big issue in post-war Germany), has been the subject of other sub-plots, e.g. In Babylon Berlin.
And yet, it's a charming series and you are drawn towards some of the characters. The two female leads have so far produced a strong performance.
Some here have harshly criticised the series for showing some street scenes where the actors, dressed in 1920s costumes, were clearly in modern day Berlin (with modern cars etc.). This was so evident that I argue it was intentional. And I think this was a very poignant reminder that these people lived in the same places we pass by, their stories unfolded across the same streets we walk on. Placing the characters in modern day Berlin highlighted how these stories are still relevant today.
So, I will keep watching this series, hoping the whole thing is as good as the first two episodes.